Milk-bottle lock.



C. H. JOHNSTON.

MILK BOTTLE LOCK.

APPLICATION man 1AN.20,1916.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

J KE N .VSM

q L M WTNESSES: l MMM/wif @y m CARL H. JOHNSTON, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

MILK-BOTTLE LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 31, 1916.

Application filed January 20, 1916. Serial No. 73,171.

To all whom may concern:

Be itknown that I, CARL H. JOHNSTON, a. citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Portland, county of Multnomah and `State of Oregon, have invented certain new and a coin in payment for the milk; or twov coins, be inserted therein; an empty bottle and a coin, being required to unlock the device for'removal of the full bottle; or, a coin in payment for the milk, and a coin in payment for the bottle, being necessary to be inserted in two different coin slots before the full bottle of milk can be removed by the customer.

The main obj ect of the invention is to provide a device in which the customer is required to pay for the bottle of milk and return an empty bottle before he can remove the bottle of milk from the device, or, if he has no empty bottle, he can insert a coin in payment for the full bottle of milk, and a coin in payment for the bottle itself, and thus secure the release of the bottle of milk. He cannot, however, secure the release of the bottle of milk otherwise.

In order that others may understand my invention I have shown a practical embodiment thereof in the accompanying sheet of drawings, which I will now describe.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a device embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on theline 3-3, of Fig. 1, showing the locking members open and with only an empty bottle indicated in broken lines in the device; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. l; and Fig.` 5 is a similar'view on the same line looking in the opposite direction.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the invention as here shown for purposes of illustration, comprises a two compartment structure, one compartment of which is adapted to receive a full bottle of milk,

which is exposed to view, excepting as to its head, by means of which it is supported and locked in place, as at the left hand side of Fig. 1, and the other compartment of which is adapted to receive an empty bottle which is wholly inclosed within the device when it is shut, as indicated at the right hand side of Fig. 1. The main body structure, therefore, comprises a box, or casing, of T-shape in cross section, as will be clear from Fig. 3, which contains most of the locking mechanism hereinafter described.

The back of the structure, or that part corresponding to the top of a T, is designated 1,

while the middle portion of the device, or that portion corresponding to the stem of a T, is designated 2. A top plate 3, is mounted upon and covers the entire top of the device, as clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. Through this top plate 3, leading to the bottom portion of the middle box 2, are two coin chutes, designated 4 and 5, the chute 4 being adapted for dimes, and the chute 5 being adapted for nickels, shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 4. At the left hand side of the device, a wall member 6, extends forwardly,

as indicated in Fig. '3, forming a compart-r ment having a supporting shelf 7, therein, with a cooperating supporting member 8, hingedly connected thereto, as at 9, and provided with a corresponding supporting shelf 10, said supporting shelves 7 and y10, being adapted to clamp around the neck of a bottle of milk placed therein, in the mannerindicated in Fig. 1, when said hinged supporting member 8, is closed. Said hinged bottleholding device 8, is provided with a latch hook 11, adapted to pass through a. slot 1Q, in the middle box portion 2, wherein said latch hook 11, hooks on to a pivoted member 13, in the form of a bell crank, the lower end 14, of which is formed to project through a slot 4, in the side of the coin chute 4, as indicated in Fig. 4, said memberl, being normally held in the position indicated in Fig. 4, by means of a spring 15. The end of the member 13, operates to stop and support the coin, in the manner indicated by the broken circular line in Fig. 4, until said coin is pushed down, in a manner hereinafter described, so as to rock said member 14, sulliciently to release the upper hooked end thereof, which is in holding engagement with the latch hook 11, on the bottle support 8. Thus is a full bottle of milk inserted, supported and locked in the device. y

An empty bottle supporting device 16, is hingedly mounted, as at 17, to the opposite side of the middle box portion 2, asv indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, said empty bottle supporting device comprising a box-like member open at two sides, and its top as indicated, andfhaving in its upper' portion a U-shaped supporting member, orpshelf 18, adapted to support an empty bottle 19, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3. The supporting U-shaped plate at itsinner side end is provided with a lockingua-perture 18e, adapted when said supporting device-16 is closed,- to be engaged by a hook member, or lever, 20, the form of which is indicated in broken lines in Fig; 1, said hook member being pivotally mounted, as at 21, and providedwith a projecting lug portion 22, and atiitslower end with a toe-portion 23, as willbe seen in Figs. 1 and 5. The toe-portion 23, projects into slot 5a of coin chute 5, as indicated in` Fig. 4. The member 2() is held in normal engagement position, as shown in Fig. 1, bythe upper end ot spring 44, also attached to lever 41. A long lever 24, is pivotally mounted, as at 25, within the box portion 1, of the structure, said .lever extending lengthwise of said box, as indicated in Fig. 3, and shown in section inv Fig. `5, and it'has an Lf shaped portion 24a, formed on its outer end which projects into a position in which it is engaged by the body of the empty bottle 19,/ inserted in the device 16, whereupon as said device 16 is closed, said lever 24, is pushed rearwardly to the position indicated in broken lines, Fig. 3, by the body of the bottle 19, and is here held by reason of the engagement of the emptyk bottle with said L-shapedv portion 24a, of said lever 24. A wedge-shaped cam member 26, is mounted on ,said lever 24, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and just theend of which is seen in Fig. 1, operating upon the lug 22, of the member 20. Also secured to a rounded portion 241, of said lever 24, is a lever 27 which projects along the inside wall of the box member 2, being held in place by means of a clip 28, said lever 27 being of angle form at its free end with an upwardly projecting point 27 a, at the clip 28, and adownwardly extending L-portion 27D, resting upon an .arch spring 29, supportedy at its opposite ends upon two bracket members 30-30, as indicated in Fig. 4, which? tends to move the free end of said lever 27, upwardly, so. that the point 27a, thereon, hooks on to the clip 28, and thus prevents the `lever 24 from being pushed backwardly. The end of said lever 27 also prevents the bell cranky lever 13, from being; moved` to the right at its lower end, so long as the lever 27 isffin the ,positionshown in Fig. 4. downwardly projecting hooked portion, as 27, projecting into a slot 5a, in the coin chute 5, as indicated in Fig. 4, in position to stop a coin which may be inserted in the coin chute 5, as will be clear from Fig. 4, in which the coin is indicated in broken'circular lines.

Secured to the L-portion 27h, of said lever 27, is an upwardly projecting portion 27d,

shown in section in Fig. 4, and shown in side .View in Fig, Secured to the bottle holding device 16, near its hinge 17, is a cam plate 31, show-n in top plan viewy in Fig. 3, andfseen in edgek view inFig. .5, said cam plate 31, havingga downwardly projecting portion'with a curved cam surface 31a. A lever 32', pivotally mounted, as Aat 33has one end extended under the cam plate31, as indicatedl in Fig. 5,. and its other end extended in the opposite 'direction and provided with a downwardly projectinggL-.portion 32a, provided with anotoh 32D, adapted to hook down over the long lever-24, as

shown in section, Fig. 5when saidfleveiv.

32, is allowed to drop bythe camplate 31, which operates on its shortend. The upwardly projecting.v port-ion 27d, ofi leverr27 engages the under side of the pivoted lever 32, in the manner shown in F ig. 5, and-while said lever32is inv its downl position, it holdsI the lever 27 down suiiiciently to allow the upwardly projecting Vpoint 27, on A(the. lever 27 to pass under the clip 28.; TheV free end of the lever 27, is thus held down during` the first part of the closing movementV of the empty bottle holdin-g device 16, by* said=le ver32, and until-the short end of the lever 32, is reached by the curved cam portion 31a, of the cam plate 31, so that the initial movement of the lever 24: backwardly, caused by the engagement therewith of the empty bottle, moves lsaid; lever-27, outwardly sufficiently to start its point27a, under the clip 28. This is-accomplished just before the lever 32, is rocked into the position shown in Fig. 5,-in order-to fully release the lever 24, and permitits full backward movement by the bottle. A-spring 34, is attached to the wall yof the middle boxv 2, and extendi ed to and connected withthe long lever 24, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5, sol as to normally hold said longl lever 24, drawn in wardly, as shown in. full lines, Fig. 3. Alsov mounted through themiddle box; portion 2, isa shaft 35, having `mounted thereupon-two operating fingers 36-37, and having mounted upon its outer end lan..operatinglever l38, said lingers 36 and 37 being positioned when` rocked downwardly by the turning of. saidl crank`38, to engage the coins inthe coin chutes 4.and 5, for the.y purpose ofqpressingf; saidcoins downwardly in ay manner tarock. the lever 27, and the toe.23.of;1nember;20, and also-the lever 14,; of the rbell crank:.13,

Said lever 27, however, also has a y downwardly-- Said iingers 36 and 87, are normally and yieldingly held in upright position by means of a spring 36a. The back wall 1a of the structure is intended to be screwed to the support for the device, by means of the screws 39-39. The box porn tion 1, therefore, is preferably constructed to be opened away from said back wall, and to this end is hinged on the same pin 25, that the lever 24, is hinged upon, which pin 25 extends through said box from top to bottom, as indicated in Fig. 4. As a means for locking the box 1, to said back wall la, said wall is provided with a bracket 40, and said box is provided with a lever 4l, hinged, as at 42, and having` a hook 43, adapted to hook to said bracket 40. Said locking lever is held in locked position by means of a spring 44, Fig. 5. The front edge of the middle box portion 2is provided with a door member 2a, adapted to be opened outwardly as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 4, for the purpose of affording access to the interior of said middle box portion, for the purpose of removing the coins discharged from the lower ends of the coin chutes, said door 2, being provided with an aperture 2b, adapted to pass yover a locking plate 2C, constructed to receive a padlock, or other looking means, in a manner which will be clearly understood from Figs. 1 and 4.

The operation of the device m-ay be briefly described as follows: Assuming that the device is open, as indicated in Fig. 3, the milk man inserts a full bottle of milk in the left hand compartment, and closes the holding device 8, whereby the bottle is supported by its neck, as indicated in Fig. 1, the hook 11, on said device 8, passing through the opening l2 in the casing, and hooking into holding engagement to the hook of the bell crank 13, within said casing, whereby said holding device 8 is locked with the full bottle of milk supported therein. A coin in payment for the milk is placed in the coin chute 4. and is stopped in the position indicated by the broken circular lines, Fig. 4, and even though the crank 38 be turned in an`en deavor to force the coin downwardly, by means of the linger 37, on the shaft 35, this can not be accomplished for the reason that the end of the lever 27, prevents the bell crank lever 13, from being rocked sufficiently to release its hook 13, from the hook 11, on the holding device 8. If a coin be also placed in the coin Lchute 5, to pay for the bottle'in which the milk is contained, and then the crank 38 be turned, the coin in the coin chute 5 will first be pressed downwardly suf liciently to press the lever 27 downwardly against the tension ofthe spring 29until its point 27a, will pass under the clip 28, whereupon the continued movement of the crank 38, will press the coin in the coin chute 4, downwardly, thus rocking the bell crank '13, and at the same time pushing the lever 27 outwardly, withy the long lever 24, suliiciently to clear the hook 1l, on the holding device 8, and permit it to be opened, and the full bottle to be removed. lf, instead of placing a coin in the coin chute 5, to pay for the bottle, the customer places a coin in the coin chute 4, to pay for the milk, and places an empty bottle in the holding device 16, then the operation of closing the device 16 with the empty bottle therein will release the full bottle. This is accomplished in the following manner: The empty bottle engages the end 24ri of the lever 24, forcing it backwardly to the broken line position, Fig. 3. In doing this, the cam plate 31, has rocked the lever 32, Fig. 5, so that itsrear end 32a, is lifted to the position shown in full lines, so as to permit said lever 24, to be forced backwardly by the bottle as the device 16 is closed. The cam block 26, on said lever, is also moved back away from the lug 22, on the lever 20, the upper end of which drops into the aperture 18a, in the U-shaped supporting plate 18, which supports the bottle, thereby locking device 16. The lever 24, moving backwardly, moves the end of lever 27, awaywfrom the lower portion 14, of the bell crank 13, so that a coin in `chute 4, being forced downwardly by the linger 37, onL operating lever 38= rocks crank 13, and releases latch hook 11, permitting the removal of the full bottle in the left hand compartment.

In case an empty bottle is not used in device 16, and it is closed, the lever 24 is not forced backwardly, and by the upward movement of; lever' 32, caused by cam 31a, and the member 27d, caused by spring 29, the point 27a, on lever 27, is raised and locks behind clip 28. The crank arm 13, cannot then be moved by the coin in coin chute 4, until a coin has also been placed in coin chute 5, to operate lever 27, in the manner previously described. The milk man, to remove the empty bottle in device 16, which is locked by catch 20, must drop a slug in coin chute and operate handle 38, the finger 36,y forcing the slug downward and operating lever 27 and also pressing toe member 23, of catch 20, downwardly, which raises catch 20, and releases device 16, allowing the empty bottle to be removed. As long" as device 16 contains no bottle, it remains open, by reason of cam 26, attached to lever 24, engaging lug on catch 20, by

I am aware that many changes in my device as here shown and described can be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and Indo not, therefore, limit my in` vention except' as I may be limited by the hereto appended claims. Y

I claim:

1. A` locking device of the character referred to, comprising in combination, a structure adapted toreceive and hold two bottles, inter-dependent locking mechanisms for locking said bottles inV said structure, coin-controlled means for unlocking said locking mechanisms, and means for operating the same, substantially as described.

2. A locking device of the character referred to, comprising` in combination, a structure adapted to receive and hold two bottles,- inter-dependent, coin-controlled locking mechanisms for locking said bottles in said structure, a coin chute for each of said locking mechanisms, and operating i means common to both of said coin' chutes and adapted to operate on the coins placed therein, for releasing` one of said locking mechanisms.

y3. A locking device of the character referred' to, comprising in combination, a structure provided with two bottle-holding devices, aV coin-controlled locking Vmechanism for locking one of said bottle-holding devices, anfd means controlled by the other bottle-holding device and coperating with said `locking mechanism, whereby the closure ofi said latter bottle-holding device with a bottle therein, and a coin for said coin-controlled locking mechanism arerequired'to release the locked bottle-holding device.

4; A locking device of the lcharacter referred to, comprising in combination, a structure having twoV bottle-holding devices, coin-controlled locking mechanisms for locking one of saidb'ottle holding' devices, two

coin chutes forvsaid lockingmechanisms, and

operating` mechanism common to both' of said coin chutes and adapted to operate on coins placed in said coin' chutes to release the locked bottle-holding device.

5. A4 locking device of the character referred to, comprising in combination', a structure having two bottle holding devices, a coin-'controlled locking mechanism for locking one of said bottle holding devices, a coin chute for 'receiving the coin, coperating mechanism operable by a bottle in the other bottle-holding device as it is closed, wher-eby a bottle in said latter bottle-holding device, and a coin in said coin chute is necessary to release'the locked bottle-holding device, substantially as described.

6. 1n a bottle locking device of the character referred to,'in combination, a structure having two bottle-holding devices with means for locking the same in closed positions, a coin-controlled'mechanism for one of said devices, and coperating bottle-controlled mechanism operable' by a lbottle placedv in the other of saidbottle-holding devicesgwhereby aco'in and an empty bottle are required to release the lockingl mechanism of the other bottle-holding device'.

7. In a bottle'lo'ckingv` devic'eofi the character-shownand described, a structure having` two bottle-holdingdevices', locking mechanisms for said devices, coin-'controlled mechanisms with coin chutesY for'r'eleasing the locking mechanisms' of-sa'id bottle-holding device's,a mechanism adapted to be 'oper'- ated by a bottle placed in oneofsaidbottleholding devices, andl operating' connections between `said coin-controlled and said bottleoperated mechanisms', whereby a coin in one ofl said coin chutes and abottle' in'` oneof said holding devices, or' a coin in each o f saidcoin chutes, is' requiredito release`V the locking mechanism of; the'v other bottle-'holding device'. v

S. A locking device of the character shown and described, havingtwo bottle-holdingzdevices with locking mechanisms therefor, one of said devices beingadaptedto receivea full bottle and theY other of said devices being adapted to'receive"A an empty'bottle", and means for unlocking the locking mechanism of the bottle holding device, adapted :to receive th'crfull bottle, said'm'eans comprising coin-controlledl mechanism' with inter-connections o1'3-erab'le by ajbottle'in the bottleholdin'g device adapted to receive' the empty bottle, whereby acoin and an empty bottle are required to release the locking mechanism'of the bottle holding device for the full bottle.

9. A locking device of the character shown and described, comprising a structure having two bottle holding devices, locking mechanisms for said devices, one of said devices being adapted to receive a full bottle and the other yan empty bottle', means controlling the locking mechanism for the device adapted to receive the full bottle, comprising` a coin chute, a releasing member operable by a coin in said coin chute, means for pressing said coin downwardly to operate said releasing member, and means operable by a bottle placed in said empty bottleholding device controllin'gthe movement of said releasing member, whereby an empty bottle and av coin are required to release the locking mechanism for the full bottle-holding device.

10. A locking device of the character shown and described, having two bottleholding devices with locking mechanisms therefor, one of said devices being adapted to receive a full bottle and the otherof said devices being` adapted to receive an empty bottle, and means for unlockingthe locking mechanism of the bottle holding device adapted to receive the full bottle, said means comprising coin-controlled mechanism with inter-connections operable by a bottle in the bottle-holding device adapted to receive the emptybottle, whereby a coin and an empty bottle are required to release the locking Signed at Portland, Multnomah county, mechanism of the bottle holding` device for Oregon, this 14.- day of January, 1916.

the full bottle, and a coin-controlled releas- CARL H. JOHNSTON. ing mechanism for unlocking the bottle- In presence of-u 5 holding device for the empty bottle, substan- I. M. GRIFFIN,

tially as described. WARREN P. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

